


Remember

by Tamix13 (orphan_account)



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-06 23:02:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8772865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Tamix13
Summary: “What’s wrong with my eyes?” Credence asked, starting to feel panicky. First Newt, now this man, they had both commented on his eyes.“Nothing is fundamentally wrong. But it’s easier seen than explained.”





	

Credence woke up to a very blurry ceiling above him.

He blinked a couple of times, but the blurriness didn’t subside. Trying to raise his hands to rub his eyes, Credence found them bound. Gently bound with strips of soft cloth, but bound nonetheless.

“What?” He managed, voice raspy. He heard movement to his right and turned his heavy head to try and see what it was. A blue blob with a smudge of gingery hair floated into his view. “Mister Scamander? Newt?”

“Yes, it’s me.” A warm hand went to his wrists, unbinding them and then Newt took one of Credence’s hands in his own. “How are you feeling?”

“I can’t see...everything’s all blurry. Everything hurts too…” Credence closed his eyes again. It hurt too much to keep them open.

“What do you remember?”

Credence thought back.

He remembered after New York, the sudden rain, cold, dark….

And then it wasn’t so cold, because a long blue coat had been thrown over his shoulders and there was a warm smile being aimed at him.

He remembered being lifted, one arm under his shoulders, the other under his knees.

He remembered a gentle voice telling him that it was going to be okay, that he was going to be taken care of.

“You told me that you were going to help me,” Credence said softly. 

“Yes, and I still am.”

Credence remembered Newt telling him his name, babbling about various things that Credence didn’t understand while Newt had carried him out of the rain and down into a place that was warm and smelled of strange herbs. 

He remembered being placed on a soft bed, softer than any bed he’d ever lain on in his short, sad life.

And he remembered a name.

Someone Newt said he was going to ask for help.

“Dumbledore?”

“Yes, I took you to Dumbledore. He was one of my professors and a very good friend. I figured that he could help me…”

“With what?”

“Seeing about removing that Obscurus from you.”

“Removing-?”

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that,” Newt said, and Credence felt him squeeze his hand. “It’s bound itself too tightly to your magic. Because it’s lived in you for so long and because technically, it came from your magic, it’s now a part of you.”

Credence wasn’t sure he was hearing Newt right. Maybe his ears were blurry too.

He had to  _ live _ with this thing?

This...this  _ monster _ that had caused so much pain and death?

It had to stay inside of him?

“Don’t worry.” Newt must have felt Credence stiffen, because his voice became even more gentle and soothing. “Don’t worry, at the very least, I can teach you how to control and focus it. It could become a very powerful tool to help you with your magic.”

“It could...help me?” 

“I believe so, yes. Now,” Newt extracted his hand from Credence’s and patted the boy’s hand gently. “Can you sit up? Would you like something to drink or eat? I’m sure you must be hungry.”

“May I have some water please?”

“Of course! Do you need help sitting up?”

“I think I can do it…” He heard Newt move to pour a glass of water. Credence moved his arms under himself to lever himself into a sitting position. It took a bit and he felt rather light headed, but he managed it all the same. 

“Well good, that’s a start, isn’t it?” Credence felt a cool glass being pushed into his hands and he raised it to his mouth, taking long greedy gulps. He hadn’t realized just how thirsty he had been.

“Alright, easy easy,” Newt gently pulled the cup down. “Let’s take it slow for now. Don’t want you making yourself sick.”

Credence let him take the cup and then Newt’s hands were back, this time on Credence’s face, cupping his jaw. 

“Is the light too bright in here for you? Do your eyes hurt?” Credence realized that he had kept his eyes closed, even when sitting up and drinking the water.

“Everything was all blurry when I woke up…” Credence admitted. “I was hoping that if I kept them closed, that it would help.”

“Let me see.”

Well, when he was touching Credence’s face so gently, and he sounded so worried, who was Credence to deny him that simple request?

He slowly opened his eyes, found Newt’s face clear this time.

“Not blurry any more,” Credence announced, then noticed that Newt’s face looked rather taken aback instead of pleased, like Credence thought it would be. “Newt?”

“You...your eyes...oh dear.” Newt tilted Credence’s head this way and that, gently, fingers warm on his chin. “Hmmm...I-I’ll be right back, Credence darling, alright?”

“A-Alright…” Credence said, then called after Newt as the magizoologist was hurrying out the door. “Wait, Newt?”

Newt paused in the doorway, not turning to look at Credence. 

“What’s wrong with my eyes?”

It was disconcerting that Newt didn’t reply, only hurried out the door, shutting it behind him.

~~~

Newt came back with another man, who had darker red hair than Newt himself did. 

Newt led the stranger over to the couch where Credence was lying, and the man leaned over to observe Credence without touching him. He had bright blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles, and Credence, despite the awkwardness of being observed so closely, didn’t feel like he was in any danger.

He was sure that this was Dumbledore, the same Dumbledore that Newt had spoken of.

So if Newt trusted him, then Credence did too.

“Do you see what I mean?” Newt asked from behind Dumbledore’s back, and Credence could see the Magizoologist was wringing his hands nervously.

“I don’t believe that I could miss it,” Dumbledore said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Credence, is it?”

“Y-Yes sir…” Credence said softly.

“Credence, may I touch you? I just want to look at your eyes.”

“What’s wrong with my eyes?” Credence asked, starting to feel panicky as Dumbledore took his chin, tilting his head back and forth as Newt had. First Newt, now this man, they had both commented on his eyes.

Dumbledore, in the meantime, had turned to Newt. 

“You didn’t tell him?” Newt gestured helplessly, face strained. Dumbledore pulled his wand from his sleeve and Credence flinched slightly, but the man merely held up a hand soothingly.

“It’s alright. I was merely going to make a reflective surface so that you can see yourself.”

“Why do I want to see myself?” Credence asked. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing is fundamentally  _ wrong _ ,” Dumbledore said. “But it’s easier seen than explained.”

“O-Oh…” Dumbledore finished the flick of his wand with a muttered incantation, and a small mirror seemed to materialize from thin air, turning to face an awe-struck Credence.

An awe-struck Credence whose expression quickly turned to one of horror.

“Wh-What?” He reached up to gently touch under one eye. “What happened? Is this permanent? Is this because of the Obscurus?”

Newt quickly came to sit next to Credence, setting a soothing hand on his arm.

“Credence…” He started, but Credence had already started to shake slightly, still staring at himself in the mirror. “Credence, please. It’s alright.”

“Alright?  _ Alright _ ?” The boy’s voice was starting to become panicked and hysterical, the solid edges of him starting to blur in a horribly familiar manner. “How is this  _ alright _ ?”

“Credence-”

“How is this  _ alright _ ? My eyes are white!”


End file.
